Autumn of content for young Dragons

Reflecting back on Sonoma Valley High School’s just-completed fall sports season in six sports as the winter Dragons begin their 2013-14 basketball and wrestling seasons, it was an autumn of content for the Dragon squads, with two Sonoma County League titles, two second-places, a pair of thirds and a bright future.

Sonoma’s fall team success came under the direction of both longtime coaches and first-year head coaches, with the varsity volleyball Lady Dragons starting their season with head coach Mindy Neves guiding them to their third straight SCL title before stepping down for personal reasons involving her family.

Taking up the varsity head-coaching reins was junior varsity head coach and varsity assistant Chelsea Scott, who kept the talented Sonoma girl spikers on an upbeat postseason course.

Under Scott – who like Neves is an SVHS grad and former prep and college standout – and assistant coaches Michelle Foster and Heidi Boatright, the Lady Dragons first claimed a third consecutive SCL Tournament crown, and then won two North Coast Section games to reach the semifinals, where the season ended.

In soccer, the Sonoma varsity boys battled in a three-team SCL title race that came down to the final match of the regular season, where they pulled out a dramatic 1-0 overtime victory over first-place defending champion Analy on their home field to earn a co-championship.

Though the Dragon boys were eliminated in the first round of the postseason NCS playoffs, they had achieved another upbeat season and title under the direction of longtime head coach Pedro Merino and assistant coach Mike Linder.

The soccer Lady Dragons also battled in the competitive SCL and captured a third-place finish and a spot in the postseason, where they fell in the NCS first round, but have a young core of players which make the future bright.

It was a successful football season for Sonoma and its first-year head coach Bob Midgley, who took over the grid program directed for 29 years by Mick O’Meara and Mike Mulas and guided the Dragons to an upbeat SCL second-place finish and a postseason berth.

Despite a first-round NCS Division-3 loss, the Sonoma gridders have a lot of impact players returning, which makes for an exciting 2014 campaign.

Also earning a standout second-place SCL finish were Sonoma’s cross-country boys, while all the young Lady Dragon runners will return next season.

Sonoma’s tennis girls also achieved an SCL third-place finish and will return a majority of their starters, while the Lady Dragon golfers and Dragon water polo teams were predominately young, with only one senior between them, so, as you can see, it definitely is looking good for Sonoma in the fall of 2014.